Following the release of the yesterday’s Budget, a spokesperson for Health Minister Shane Reti said the level of funding was not yet being released due to "commercial sensitivity".
This follows ongoing haggling with Australasian firm CPB Contractors about the delivery of the new inpatient building, which has already delayed the start of above ground construction by about six months.
Yesterday’s budget did not contain new figures for the project, which the ODT understands has jumped to more than $2 billion.
However, a budget document said extra funding had been reallocated to the new Dunedin hospital in order to address cost pressures.
It did not reveal how much funding had been reallocated.
Another budget document noted the risks associated with the project had increased.
"There remain significant financial pressures on the new Dunedin hospital project.
"This has been driven by construction sector inflation, scope changes, and the relative isolated location of the project coupled with a small contractor base with sufficient experience and capacity from which to draw."
Dr Reti did not comment yesterday on whether the national party’s $30million pre-election pledge to the hospital would be delivered in full.
Announced last July, National said the boost would pay for the reinstatement of 23 inpatient beds, two operating theatres and the country’s first publicly owned PET scanner.
Funding for the new Dunedin hospital at present sits at $1.8b — which includes $225m set aside for a digital upgrade — and appears set to climb further, as reported by the ODT recently.
It recently emerged HNZ had warning the government ballooning costs meant the project needed another cash injection to be completed on time and within scope.
Recently released documents have also shown internal government reservations about continuing with CPB Contractors.
The company holds an early contractor engagement contract for the inpatient building, and the government is negotiating with the company on the above-ground construction project.
In a document sent to Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora last December, the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission recommended it delay its decision on a contractor until "considerably more" work was done to gain confidence about the final cost.
